FESTIVAL
FESTIVAL
About SAXGO23
Nova Gorica has been a gathering place for young saxophonists from Slovenia and abroad for a solid quarter of a century. The SAXGO International Saxophone Meeting, which is gaining more and more reputation among musicians and connoisseurs of this instrument, is at the same time the festival with the longest tradition in the city, where the sounds of the saxophone are intertwined in various contexts of classical compositions, jazz and a variety of other contemporary styles, revealing all its expressive peculiarities. The upcoming SAXGO23 festival, which this year also includes the Saxophone Summer School, will take place at various venues in Nova Gorica between 26 June and 2 July 2023. During this period, 7 concerts will take place, at which, jazz and classical music will intertwine, continuing thus the well-established tradition of the SAXGO event.
Boštjan Simon: SAXGO23 JAZZ
Nova Gorica will host three concerts by saxophone giants as a part of the jazz section of the SAXGO23 Festival. These saxophone musicians come from different generations, nationalities and stylistic orientations, but they are united by an unwavering commitment to their own vision of music and a distinctive, unique sound…
Jan Gričar: SAXGO23 classical saxophone
This year, three concerts will be organised within the framework of the classical section of the SAXGO Festival. In a way, it is a fusion of two generations – experienced masters on the one hand and young but promising ones on the other. After a few years, the renowned French Habanera Quartet is coming to visit Nova Gorica again…
JAN GRIČAR – CLASSICAL SAXOPHONE
Jan Gričar is a representative of the younger generation of successful Slovenian musicians. He graduated from the Academy of Music of the University of Ljubljana with the highest honours in the classes of Professors Matjaž Drevenšek and Miha Rogina. Jan continued his musical career in France, where he studied at the Regional Conservatory of Versailles under the guidance of Professor Vincent David and successfully completed his master’s studies at the prestigious Paris Conservatory, officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris, under the supervision of Professor Claude Delangel. In addition, he obtained a bachelors’ degree in chamber music in the class of Professor Laszlo Hadady. He regularly performs on numerous music stages in Slovenia, Europe and Japan. He has performed as a soloist with the Vienna Symphonic Orchestra, the Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, the RTV Slovenia Symphonic Orchestra and the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra. During his career, he has played with the Ensemble Intercontemporain and under renowned conductors such as En Shao, Matthias Pintscher, Anton Nanut and Marko Letonja. Jan Gričar is the first prize winner of numerous national and international competitions, such as TEMSIG – Slovenian Music Competition for Youth, Fiorindo International Music Competition, SVIREL– International Music Competition, the International Saxophone Competition in Nova Gorica, etc. He has been awarded several significant prizes for his outstanding achievements in the field of music: the Škerjanc Award of the Ljubljana Conservatory of Music and Ballet, as well as the Prešeren Award and the Outstanding Academic Achievement Award of the University of Ljubljana. He repeatedly won the Zois Scholarship and was also a holder of the scholarship awarded by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia. He works at the Ljubljana Conservatory of Music and Ballet, where he teaches saxophone and chamber music. See more: www.jangricar.com
BOŠTJAN SIMON – JAZZ & IMPROVISATION
After graduating from the Amsterdam Conservatory, Boštjan Simon returned to Slovenia where he and other musicians founded several internationally renowned ensembles. He explored various approaches in improvisation with the ensembles Trus!, Velkro and Litošt, and performed on stages were such performances are not usually heard. He currently leads the ensemble There Be Monsters, which performs in Slovenia and in the neighbouring countries. He also occasionally plays in the following ensembles: TEJO – Trieste early jazz orchestra, Big band RTV Slovenija, Milan Stanisavlević Qintet, Robert Jukič quartet, Boštjan Simon Quintet, Quartzite Quartet and Big band Nova. In his artistic work he devotes himself to improvisation on the saxophone and combines it with live electronic music and polyrhythmic approaches to composition, as noted in his latest audiovisual project called Etceteral, performed in association with Marek Fakuč and Lina Rica. He draws inspiration from the exposure to different styles of authentic music. He writes down musical bookmarks and sketches, from which music arrangements for each specific group are born. “Each of these groups is an excursion into a specific sound,” says Boštjan, “but I believe it would be possible to find common characteristics to all these excursions especially in the composed rhythms and the mixture of acoustic and electronic sounds, which evoke my broader musical interest.” As far as improvisation is concerned, Boštjan has certainly been strongly influenced by the internationally renowned percussionist Zlatko Kaučič, with whom he had the honour of playing in a duet at one of the past editions of the SAXGO festival. The SAXGO School, the BCMF festival and his Kombo groups represent an important incubator of improvisation in the wider Goriška region.
Barbara Poša Belingar
Public relations, contact person and program coordinator
T: + 386 5 335 40 13
M: + 386 41 775 089
E: pr@kulturnidom-ng.si
Where are we
Kulturni dom Nova Gorica / Nova Gorica Arts Centre
Bevkov trg 4
SI – 5000 Nova Gorica
25. International Saxophone Meeting in Slovenia 2022
24. International Saxophone Meeting in Slovenia 2021
23. International Saxophone Meeting in Slovenia 2019
22. International Saxophone Meeting in Slovenia 2018
21. International Saxophone Meeting in Slovenia 2017
20. International Saxophone Meeting in Slovenia 2016
19. International Saxophone Meeting in Slovenia 2015
18. International Saxophone Meeting in Slovenia 2014
Archive before 2014
